Rat bites are a frequent reason for consultation in the city of Buenos Aires. The Zoonosis Service at Muñiz Hospital assists approximately 100 annual consultations, what can be considered an indicator of the sanitary conditions of the urban areas where an important part of the population lives.

A study carried out by specialists of the Zoonosis Service of Muñiz Hospital1 states that the city of Buenos Aires records near a hundred consultations due to rat bites per year. Even though this phenomenon can be considered an indicator of quality of life and unsatisfied basic needs, it constitutes a generalized sanitary problem affecting both areas with deficient urbanization and residential areas.

Accidents due to bites of synatropic rats are particular events associated with an infectious pathology called "rat-bite fever" originated by Streptobacillus moniliformis and Spirillum minus. The first is part of the animal's mouth flora, while the second gives rise to ocular infections in rats, and then possibly reaches the mouth through the lacrimonasal tract; humans are infected by both bacteria through direct contact after the bite.

The species involved are Rattus norvegicus and R. rattus -the former prevails- implying a worrying sanitary risk, both due to the likely consequences posed by the bite, and to the existing risk of being exposed to contracting other diseases. Leptospirosis and hantavirosis are diseases in which these rodents take part as reservoirs and sources of dissemination of their etiologic agents.

Although all age groups are vulnerable to the bites, the sanitary consequences and their repercussions tend to be more dramatic in younger children. According to the conclusions drawn by specialists, rat-bite fever presents itself as a potentially severe case whose evolution in the patient cannot be predicted. For that reason, prophylactic antibiotic prescription of betalactamics or tetracyclines is recommended during a short period of time for any affected patient.

The presence of rodents in urban areas makes up a highly risky sanitary scenario. Consequently, for control actions to become effective, the active participation of all the community is necessary so as to minimize the food sources and shelter resources that can favor the settlement and development of rodent colonies. In this respect, the basic prevention measures that must be taken by the population in general are to avoid the accumulation of rubbish in open spaces and wastelands, as well as to preserve cleanliness and tidiness in each house's neighboring areas. Likewise, these actions must be complemented by those developed by the public surveillance and control programs designed in accordance with the neighborhood's characteristics and those of the rats involved. .